Zoomorphic Figure (Boli)

Description

A boli is a type of Bamana power object, an object charged with spiritual energy that can affect human life. Like this one resembling a bush cow or hippopotamus, they are typically made of wood wrapped in layers of cotton cloth and covered with sacrificial materials—including animal blood, plant extracts, and dirt—imbued with energy by a specialist in healing and divining.

A boli is commissioned and cared for by an organization like Kono or Komo that oversees the various spiritual rites of a community in order to harness spiritual energy for protective or therapeutic purposes.

Provenance

Harold and Mary X. Weinstein, Chicago, Ill., by 1961; given to the Art Institute, 1961.

Zoomorphic Figure (Boli)

Bamana

Mid-early 20th century

Accession Number

154023

Medium

Wood, cloth, mud, and sacrificial material

Dimensions

48.3 × 31.8 × 50.8 cm (19 × 12 1/2 × 20 in.)

Classification

wood

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harold X. Weinstein